On Mon, 4 Mar 1996, Darren T. Boss wrote:
quoted 2 lines Picked up the Subtropic 'Homebrew' on Reflective over the weekend and> Picked up the Subtropic 'Homebrew' on Reflective over the weekend and
> wow! I can't recall if anyone on the list has mentioned this recording before.
I did a mini-review a few weeks ago.
This album sits right alongside the T-Power for me, in the way it
uses a wider variety of sounds and timbres than run of the mill drum & bass.
I did buy the "Jacob's Optical Staircase" CD on a recommend from an IDM'er
in the UK, as being something a notch above the Subtropic. I'm not convinced.
It's a nice record, but like Goldie, Dego seems to want to recycle 70's
Soul music over jittery beats. It's done well enough, but for someone
who lived through the 70's listening to the originals, it seems a little
weak.
If you want the recipe for 'jazzy' jungle try this -- play a C Maj 7 chord
(CEGB, all on the white keys). Then transpose this random intervals, and
be sure to include one 1/2 step transposition. Change chords once a measure.
The point is, that if you want to be jazzy, you can't just noodle around
randomly. There has to be some directed motion to the music, something
that can convey human emotion.
And by the way, on the JOS record, the contributions of Juan Atkins and
Josh Wink are, to my ears, inaudible...
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